Culinary Science in Denmark: Molecular Gastronomy and Beyond

Abstract

Noting that Denmark is traditionally an agricultural country and that a large part of the gross national product derives from the export of meat and processed food products, this article points out the paradox that only during the last decade has some Danish food-related research been genuinely driven by gastronomy and gastronomic innovation, and only recently have research activities and academic educational programs that include aspects of molecular gastronomy and other culinary sciences been initiated. At the same time, Denmark has placed itself on the international map due to innovative chefs winning top international awards and celebrated positions on lists of the best restaurants worldwide. Moreover, the New Nordic Cuisine movement has released novel driving forces and instigated new types of collaborations between chefs and scientists. Danish scientists of different orientations are being stimulated by the empirical world of gastronomy and cooking and are maturing molecular gastronomy as a science, and others have become proliferate writers and communicators of gastronomically inspired science; for example, within gastrophysics.

Keywords:

• Food science
• molecular gastronomy
• gastrophysics
• education
• research communication
• publication
• Denmark

Notes

1. A more comprehensive history of molecular gastronomy, its founders, and their relationship to each other can be found at Harold McGee's website, Curious Cook, at http://www.curiouscook.com/site/erice.html.

2. “All science is either physics or stamp-collecting.” Attributed to Ernest Rutherford (Birks, 1962).

3. Quoting from the manifesto from New Nordic Cuisine (2004): To express the purity, freshness, simplicity and ethics that we would like to associate with our region and elaborated as:

•	Uncomplicated preparations that bring out the flavors of the raw materials—food that can be both rustic as well as elegant.
•	Honest food—that the food is made without superfluous exertions, complications, manipulations and transformations.